DALLAS - It’s more smoke than fire, hours ahead of the first round of the NHL draft at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Friday night, but the rumblings involving Oscar Klefbom and the Bruins are out there in hockey circles.
Klefbom, 24, the Edmonton Oilers defenseman, would certainly be at the top of the list of available players that would fit a need for the Black and Gold. He would definitely fit Boston’s longstanding need for a frontline, top-four, left shot D-man that can play in all situations. Sure, he had a down season with five goals and 21 points in 66 games along with a minus-12 rating for the Oil last year, but he still was an absolute horse with 22:51 of ice time per game at an ideal 6-foot-3, 220-pound size.
Klefbom is also just a year removed from 12 goals and 38 points while playing in all 82 games and clearly he has the pedigree as a former first-round pick. There’s also the fact that he’s signed for four more years at just $4.167 million and would become a major salary-cap bargain if he can bounce back and continue to be a reliable top-4 D-man.
Torey Krug’s name has been speculated on multiple occasions to be involved as a power-play quarterback D-man who would fit a glaring need for Edmonton and there’s also obviously plenty of knowledge of Krug’s game with former Bruins management Peter Chiarelli and Keith Gretzky running things in Oil Country.
No confirmation as of yet with plenty of names being tossed around hours ahead of the draft, but this one should be something for Bruins fans to keep an eye on as teams begin closing trades this weekend.
